Gateway
by Xx.LoveIsABlessing.xX
Summary: #8 in the 100 Themes Writing Challenge.


**# 8 : Gateway**

"So do you know how you're going to do it, yet?" Ben asked calmly as Amy and him leaned against a paddock gate, watching the pasture's lone occupant.

The two year old bay appaloosa filly was watching them aswell, wishing they would walk away from the gate so that she could go up to them.

Amy sighed sadly, "No not yet. Any ideas?"

Ben shook his head, "Sorry Ames, I don't think I'm going to be of much help here."

Letting out a breath, Amy considered the challenge in front of her.

Tiger Lily, the two year old filly in the field, was deathly afraid of gates. Any kind of gate; pasture, stall, or trailer. She'd had to be tranquilized by her owners to load her up and bring her to Heartland to be worked with. Her owners had told Amy that they figured the fear had come from when she'd been a few months old and her tail had gotten shut in a stall door. Ever since then, the young horse had been terrified of gates of any kind and as she got bigger and bigger, it was nearly impossible to get her to go through them.

"Maybe Ty could come up with something?" Ben suggested and Amy sighed.

"Maybe, but I have a feeling she's going to be a really tricky one." She said.

Ben nodded his agreement, "Oh you're definitely right on that."

"Oh Lord, what is she right on now?"

Both Ben and Amy turned to Ty with a grin at his sarcastic remark.

"Oh just about how you're a wonderful boyfriend and no one will ever be better than you." Amy said sweetly and Ty laughed.

"Alright suck up, what did you do?" He teased as he walked to stand beside her and Ben.

"We were talking about Tiger Lily and what we can do to help her." Ben explained and Ty's expression turned from joking to serious. It still amazed Ben how he could make that change so fast, in just the blink of an eye.

"She's going to be tough considering she won't go within five feet of a gate. Look at her, she wants to come up here right now and the only thing stopping her is this gate that we're leaning on. Her fear is strong enough to keep her away from us, and we all know that she's a very sociable horse." Ty said.

"Any ideas?" Amy asked him. Ty seemed to have a sixth sense with horses, always knowing what to do when it came to them. She trusted him with them more than she trusted anyone else.

Ty tilted his head in thought and watched Tiger Lily closely, "We could start off by letting her see us lead another horse through the gate. If she sees that it didn't hurt them, maybe she'll follow them through it. If we could just get her into a smaller pen, then we could join up with her and get her to trust us enough to follow us through."

"Definitely worth a shot." Ben said with a nod.

"And a Plan B just in case it doesn't work?" Amy asked.

Ty hummed in thought, "I'm honestly not sure. I guess we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let's just get her a pasture mate and hope that by tomorrow they'll have bonded well enough that she'll follow the other horse through the gate."

Amy nodded, "Who would go well with her?"

"We could put Red in there with her, they got along well over the fence earlier." Ben offered.

"That'd be great, an older more experienced horse who doesn't spook easily." Ty nodded his approval.

"I'll go get Red." Ben said and turned away, jogging up to the barn to get his gelding.

"I hope this works." Amy said as Tiger Lily watched Ben go, her ears pricked forward with her curiosity.

Ty put his arm around her and rubbed her arm soothingly, "It will, Ames. It may take some time, but we've got plenty of that."

_**#8G**_

After letting Tiger Lily get used to Red and bond with him over a few days, Amy and Ty stood a few yards away from the gate and watched Ben go in to retrieve Red.

"Fingers crossed." Amy whispered. Ty nodded beside her.

Ben slipped Red's halter over his head and snapped it on, rubbing Tiger Lily's nose as she pushed curiously at his hands.

"Alright girl, let's play follow the leader." Ben muttered softly to the filly as he clicked to Red and started leading him up the pasture.

Tiger Lily followed along at Red's side.

"So far so good." Ty said as they watched Red and Ben get closer, Tiger Lily walking almost on Ben's heels in her need to stay close to them.

"She really hates being in there by herself. She's sticking so close to them." Amy murmured as they watched.

Ty nodded, "Told you she was sociable."

Ben neared the gate and Tiger Lily balked, stopping in her tracks and watching Ben and Red approach the gate.

Amy's heart sank, "Well, there went that plan."

"Hold on, don't give up just yet." Ty said as he kept his eyes on the appaloosa.

She tossed her head nervously and called out to Red, obviously not wanting to be alone. Red turned his head back to look at her and whickered low in his throat, stopping halfway through the gate. Ben didn't try to hurry the gelding, his eyes on Tiger Lily as she nervously pranced in place.

"Come on girl." Ben said quietly and Red nodded his head at the filly.

Tiger Lily called out to Red again, who responded once more before turning and walking the rest of the way through the gate before turning back to face her. He whickered again.

Amy and Ty grinned as, nervously, Tiger Lily took a few more steps towards the gate, closer to it then since she ever had been before.

"Come on, come on." Ty murmured under his breath and Amy took his hand, squeezing gently in her excitement.

Finally Tiger Lily gave a snort before plunging forward, bursting through the gate and whirling on her haunches so that she stood, quivering, by Red's side.

"She did it!" Amy gasped excitedly and Ty grinned as they slowly started making their way down towards Ben and the two horses.

"Good girl, good girl." Ben said quietly to the filly as he slipped a halter over her head and snapped it on, handing her lead rope to Ty as he got close.

"Look at you! You came out of the gate." Ty said with a proud pat on Tiger Lily's neck.

The filly tossed her head, as if she was proud of herself.

"So now what?" Ben asked as Red butted his shoulder playfully with his head.

"Now we try to get her into the smaller corral." Ty said with a small laugh.

Ben made a face, "Well, this should be fun."

Tiger Lily looked between the two males curiously, as if she was wondering what was going on. Heaving a sigh, she leaned her smaller body against Red's and relaxed.

Whatever was to come, she could handle it.


End file.
